Since it's the end of the year, I figured it was time to look back at all the good (and bad) movies that we've seen this year. My list has changed rapidly over the last few months. Here's my list:

THE BEST

10. The Simpsons Movie
Originally, "Walk Hard" was in the #10 spot, but after viewing this again on DVD, I appreciated it a lot more, mainly because there was no four year old running up and down the aisle during the movie. This movie is so quotable.

9. Transformers
I know many of you harbor a hatred for the movie because it strayed so far from the source material. In other words, Michael Bay raped your childhood. But I was never really into "Transformers" as a kid, so this movie didn't really bother me. I thought that the action scenes were pretty sweet. Having said that, I still think Michael Bay is way too arrogant, as seen in interviews.

8. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
While this made for a nice end to an awesome trilogy, it did have some flaws here and there, like the giant Calypso and the length. It was a bit long in the tooth (if you saw it in a theater, anyway), but that maelstrom battle was probably the best climax out of the three films.

7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Now, contrary to "At World's End", this was a movie that I wouldn't have minded being fifteen minutes longer. But I have to say, the writers did a good job of condensing an 870 page book to a two hour movie. The cast was great in this one, too. I thought it, along with "Goblet of Fire", are among the best of the Potter films.

6. Spider-Man 3
People dismiss this movie because of the dancing scenes, but I didn't really pay them any mind. Sure, they were a little campy, but it's not like it was "Batman and Robin". I thought it was a great addition to the series, and the introduction of Venom was truly awesome.

5. American Gangster
Not much to say about this one. Brilliant story, great acting from Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Not as good as other crime dramas like "The Departed", but it was still good nonetheless.

4. Knocked Up
Great movie from Judd Apatow. Not as funny as "The 40 Year Old Virgin", but it was still great. Plus, it had a huge sense of realism to it, you could concievably (no pun intended) believe that this was an actual situation that was happening thanks to the brilliant cast.

3. Grindhouse
I'm going to say this: if you missed out on this in theaters, I really feel sorry for you. This was the most fun I've had in a theater in a long time. Both of the features were fun joyrides, especially "Planet Terror". And the fake trailers were absolutely hilarious. If you watch these movies on DVD, they'll still be fun, but it's just not the same as experiencing it in a theater. I'm just sad not enough people saw it in theaters.

2. Superbad
For a long time, this movie was #1 on my list. It was definitely the funniest movie I've seen this year, maybe even the last five years. Another solid comedy from the Apatow crew. So many memorable lines and characters. McLovin is definitely going down in history.

1. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
A musical, of all things! I normally despise musicals! But this isn't just any musical. It's one of Tim Burton's best movies and it's got an awesome cast that does a brilliant job. I recommend that all of you see this. I'm not sure how much longer it'll be in theaters, but try and catch it if you can. If you're a fan of Burton, you won't be disappointed.

HONORABLE MENTIONS
-Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story
-Ratatouille
-300
-Hot Fuzz
-Halloween (the only horror movie I saw this year that didn't suck)

THE WORST
Oddly enough, I didn't pay to see any of these due to a friend who works in a movie theater.

5. Ghost Rider
The only good things about this movie? Eva Mendes and Sam Elliott. But Eva Mendes kept her clothes on the whole movie and Sam Elliott never fought anyone. So we had Nicolas Cage as a campy Ghost Rider with lame villains. It wasn't god-awful, but it certainly wasn't good.

4. Evan Almighty
I should've known better, but I figured, "Hey, the first one wasn't bad, and Steve Carell is funny." Waste of an hour and a half.

3. Hostel Part II
I saw a leaked copy of this online. Just really bad and campy, completely opposite from the first one.

2. Epic Movie
I really regret seeing this. Not much more to say about it.

1. Norbit
I figured, "Hey, maybe Eddie Murphy may have gotten his touch back." Boy, was I wrong.

There were still a few movies that I wanted to see, like "No Country For Old Men" and "Juno", but ultimately I think I'll see those on DVD.

So what did you guys love, like and hate?

2-1B

12-30-2007, 05:37 PM

I've seen 32 of the 2007 releases, most of them in the theater. I have a handful more that I want to see either on DVD or currently in the theater but I'm not sure when I'll get around to that. Here's what I did see though...hard to come up with a "best of" list, though:

Theatrical Release:

Catch and Release
Smokin' Aces
300
Reign Over Me
Blades of Glory
Spider-Man 3
Shrek 3
Pirates of the Carribean 3
Knocked Up
Evan Almighty
Transformers
License to Wed
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
The Simpsons Movie
Superbad
Balls of Fury
Halloween
The Brothers Solomon
Good Luck Chuck
We Own the Night
30 Days of Night
Dan in Real Life
Saw 4
American Gangster
Fred Claus
No Country for Old Men
The Mist
Hitman
Awake
Walk Hard

DVD:
Hot Fuzz
Hot Rod

Rocketboy

12-30-2007, 06:20 PM

This post will be deja vu for a few peeps:

The Best/My Favorites:

1. Superbad - Every year (or two) there comes a movie that will be quoted by so many people so often that it gets really annoying really quickly (take Napoleon Dynamite and Anchorman for example). Endlessly rewatchable and hilarious. There isn't much that can be said about this movie that hasn't already been said elsewhere.

2. 300 - Another Frank Miller masterpiece perfectly brought to life. Like Sin City before it, 300 is a shot for shot recreation. The production of this one really flew under my radar until I started seeing commercials for it. The violence was over-the-top, excessively bloody, and hell of a lot of fun.

3. The Bourne Ultimatum - In a summer of threequels, this is the only one that succeeded in surpassing the previous two installments. And surpass it it did - by miles. Easily one of the best action movie series ever. Even though they'll probably drive big trucks of cash to Matt Damon's house for Bourne 4, they really don't need to as this is a very well-done, satisfying conclusion to the story.

4. Knocked Up - Judd Apatow delivers* his second great comedy of the year. After his memorable performance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Seth Rogen's star exploded with Knocked Up. Just look to Rogen's writing/acting in Superbad for further evidence of his great comedic talents. Can't wait to see Rogen in Kevin Smith's Zach And Miri Make A Porno.
* Ugh, terrible pun not intended.

5. Live Free or Die Hard - Yippie Ki Yay! John McClane is back - well, sorta. If you saw Live Free or Die Hard in theaters you probably missed all the standard Die Hard F-bombs (which are thankfully abundant in the "Unrated" DVD), but hopefully were also entertained by the insanely over-the-top action scenes. And Kevin Smith totally steals his scenes.

6. The Simpsons Movie - I think they saved up all the funny from the last 10 years (or so) of The Simpsons and stuck it in the movie.

7. Gone Baby Gone - The Afflecks deliver an amazingly directed (Ben) and acted (Casey) movie. And Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are great in almost everything they do.

8. Spider-Man 3 - You have to take the good with the bad with this one. For all it's missteps (too much story crammed in, emo Peter, and the Jazz club scene *shudder*) Spider-man 3 was still a very fun ride.

9. Sicko - Love him or hate him Michael Moore's latest feels far less one sided than his previous efforts, Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11. Sicko moves you, makes you laugh, and p*sses you off all at the same time.

10. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - A definite step up from Dead Man's Chest and an ending that wraps up a bit too nicely for my tastes (and obviously sets up a possible Pirates 4), but At World's End is much like Spider-Man 3 - a fun ride.

Ghost Rider - Well, at least I got to see Nicolas Cage's head burst into flames.

Reno 911!: Miami - How can such a hilarious tv show fail so miserably on the big screen?

Vacancy - I'd say something about this movie, but I really can't remember much of it, so it must've been pretty bad.

Transformers - I went into this movie with zero expectations and was still let down big time. All the "Transformers" looked the same (except Optimus and Bumblebee - they were red and yellow!), the action scenes were a sloppy, blurry mess and every character was mentally retarded.

The Rest:

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer - I'm one of the few that liked the first Fantastic Four. It was a lot of fun. The sequel was no exception...despite the horrible Galactus.

Shooter - Mark Wahlberg takes what looked like a lame by the numbers action movie and makes it surprisingly good.

Mr. Bean's Holiday - Far, far better than the piece of garbage that was 1997's Bean, Rowan Atkinson returns his childlike character to greatness (and not a recycled gag in sight!).

TMNT - The best Ninja Turtles movie since the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the best cartoon since the original. CGI was a nice step for the franchise.

Blades of Glory - Will Ferrell returns to form after the crap factory that was Talladega Nights.

Grindhouse - Planet Terror - great fun. Death Proof - only the last 15 minutes are fun. The trailers were worth the price of admission alone.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters - The show that defines ADHD TV goes on for 90 minutes. As great as the show is, 90 minutes is a bit too long.

Hannibal Rising - Even though it bombed, I thought this was a great new take on the Hannibal Lecter story and did a great job at making a sadistic killer sympathetic. I felt that it could have used an Anthony Hopkins cameo though.

Breach - Ryan Phillippe shines again in a great thiller that has little to no action scenes.

Jedi_Master_Guyute

12-30-2007, 07:46 PM

I was actually about to post a blog about this although there are still about 2-3 movies I need to see, but as of right now, here we go (I didn't add any explanations, but feel free to question my judgment. hehehe) :crazed:

best:
1. No Country for Old Men
2. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
3. The Bourne Ultimatum
4. Juno
5. Zodiac
6. The Darjeeling Limited
7. Heima, A film about Sigur Ros
8. Knocked Up
9. Once
10. Superbad

No worries, mate. :) I'll tell ya this JMG, it sure was interesting to go through the 2007 Theatrical Release calendar and note all the flicks I've seen this year. I think most years it is more than 32, this year was definitely a down year in terms of quantities. Of the ones on that list, I saw Blades, Superbad, and Halloween twice each in the theater.

Well I don't know, how can one rank across different genres ? I know some of you hated Blades of Glory but I loved it...yet how can it compare to something like No Country or Gangster ?

I loved Solomon for what it was, but epic filmmaking it wasn't. :D

I guess I just have such a wild range of mood and taste when it comes to movies.

Rocketboy

12-31-2007, 07:57 PM

Well I don't know, how can one rank across different genres ? I know some of you hated Blades of Glory but I loved it...yet how can it compare to something like No Country or Gangster ? The way I do it for "The Best" (which I should have called "My Favorites") is I think about which ones I'd actually watch again (and again). And out of those ones, I decide which ones I enjoyed the most.

Jaff

12-31-2007, 11:25 PM

The Best for me would be Pirates of the Carribian 3: The ending and loose ends were so well written. However I was quite fond of Michael Clayton too.

The Worst movie I've seen in years is Alien vs. Predator 2, and that's hard to say because I'm a huge alien fan.

El Chuxter

01-01-2008, 01:22 AM

God smiled upon Sam Raimi by having Mr Bay release Transformers in 2007.

If not for that steaming pile of crap, Spider-Man 3 would've been the worst with a vengeance.

Rebo's_Guitarist

01-01-2008, 07:26 AM

Ones I like:

Catch and Release - Definite top 3 for me
Zodiac
Grindhouse
Pirates 3
Oceans 13
Transformers
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Hairspray - Not bad for a weird musical.
Superbad - More vulgar than I expexted
Alvin And The Chipmunks (If I hadnt seen it with 4 girls under 8 I bet it would have sucked)
Juno - Saw it last night, totally awesome

Poo:

Because I Said So
Baldes of Glory
Spiderman 3

Dont know, fell asleep:

Ratatouille
Stardust
The Nanny Diaries
The Jane Austen Book Club
Bee Movie

My winner for 2007 ------------Across the Universe - Just awesome, I didnt think I would like the remakes of all the Beatles songs, but I did. It was somewhat like The Wall, but kind of not. Definite #1 for me.

UKWildcat

01-01-2008, 11:43 AM

I still have quite a bit to watch, as far as titles released in 2007 are concerned, but here is what I enjoyed most, and least (in no particular order).

Best (Favorites):
300
Knocked Up
Superbad
Grindhouse
28 Weeks Later
The Last King of Scotland
Live Free or Die Hard
Disturbia

Still need to watch:
The Bourne Ultimatum
Hot Fuzz
Letters from Iwo Jima
Ocean's 13
1408
The Host
Zodiac
No Country for Old Men
American Gangster
There Will Be Blood
Saw IV
Halloween
Stardust (need to finish)
Pirates 3
Ratatouille
Walk Hard
I am Legend

Believe it or not, I haven't watch a whole bunch of stuff this year, like I usually do. As you can see, I still need to watch quite a bit of stuff. I know I am leaving some movies off my Best and Worst lists, I am just having trouble thinking at the moment. Will update later.

Rocketboy

01-08-2008, 06:14 PM

After seeing Juno, it is time to update to my favorites list...which'll be updated again after I watch 3:10 to Yuma.

After watching No Country For Old Men, I'd have to say that takes the new #3 spot, which pushes The Simpsons Movie to the honorable mentions list. Also, while I'm at it, Juno should take a spot on my honorable mentions list, too.

UKWildcat

01-29-2008, 10:23 AM

UPDATED LIST:

Best (Favorites):
300
Knocked Up
Superbad
Grindhouse
28 Weeks Later
Live Free or Die Hard
Disturbia
Eastern Promises
1408
No Country for Old Men
3:10 to Yuma
Saw IV
The Bourne Ultimatum

Worst (Least Favorites):
Spiderman 3
Ghost Rider
Bug

Rest (somewhere in between):
Mr. Brooks
Transformers
The Fountain
Blades of Glory
The Simpsons Movie
Breach
Dead Silence
Halloween ( I really did enjoy this one, but it has its flaws)

Still need to watch:
Hot Fuzz
Ocean's 13
The Host
Zodiac
American Gangster
There Will Be Blood
Stardust (need to finish)
Pirates 3
Ratatouille
Walk Hard
I am Legend